Kodos the Executioner
Kodos the Executioner is a one-shot villain in the Star Trek franchise, appearing in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Conscience of the King". He was portrayed by the late . History After an exotic fungus ruined the food supply on the Federation colony world Tarsus IV, Kodos was able to engineer a vote of no confidence in the current governor by the leadership council. The council then voted Kodos in as governor. In order to save half of the 8,000 colonists, he had the other half executed so that the remaining food would be enough. The executions were held in an amphitheatre and were witnessed by Starfleet officer Gabriel Lorca and his team. A believer of eugenics, he had personally chosen which colonists would live and which ones would die. Among those he had chosen included a large number of elderly individuals, along with just about everyone who could identify him. The executions were later proved unnecessary as the rescue ships arrived earlier than expected. Among the people killed by Kodos were the parents of future Starfleet officer Kevin Rielly and Lieutenant Commander Gabriel Lorca's girlfriend. Lt. Commander Lorca and Commander Philippa Georgiou attempted to hunt down Kodos and bring him to justice. When the Starfleet team reached the encampment where Kodos was hiding, a firefight broke out between Kodos's followers and Lorca's team. Returning fire Lorca hit a box holding banned thermite grenades, which detonated and killed two of Kodos's people. The badly burned body of Ian Galloway was discovered in Kodos's encampment, but was so badly disfigured that it could not be identified except through genetic records. As Kodos had manipulated genetic records, Galloway's remains were identified as having been that of Kodos, and Kodos became a historical villain. Only nine survivors were eyewitnesses who saw Kodos, including future Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk. Kodos had slipped away and hid with a few of his supporters on Tarsus IV. He lost weight due to having to survive on subsistence rations. He shaved his head and moustache to better disguise himself. In 2247 he was able to leave Tarsus IV on a transport under the name of his aide Ian Galloway. Kodos had not taken any further steps to kill the remaining eyewitnesses, fearing that if he tried Tarsus IV would be quarantined again and he would be captured. It was later discovered that Kodos was still alive and living as an itinerant actor under the name Anton Karidian. In 2266, Captain James T. Kirk was summoned to Planet Q by his friend and fellow Tarsus IV survivor Dr. Thomas Leighton, who was convinced that Karidian was Kodos. Kirk was skeptical of this, believing that Kodos had died 20 years earlier. By then, Kirk, Leighton, and Starfleet Lt. Kevin Rielly were the only three eyewitnesses alive, all the others had been killed, and Karidian had been nearby when these murders had occurred. When Leighton turned up dead a short time later, Kirk began to suspect something was going on, and arranged to take Karidian's company to their next performance on Benecia Colony. While Karidian was on the USS Enterprise, Kevin Rielly - a third Tarsus IV survivor - was nearly killed when his meal was poisoned. Kirk himself was almost killed when a phaser was set to overload in his quarters, but Kirk located the phaser and dumped it in a protected exhaust chute before it could explode. Spock investigated and found Karidian's records started almost immediately following the Tarsus IV massacre. To his shame and horror by Kodos learned that his daughter Lenore, murdered or try to murder the eyewitnesses in order to prevent her father's arrest. When Lenore tried to shoot Kirk, Kodos, apparently regretting his earlier actions and feeling the one good thing in his life was destroyed, saved Kirk's life by taking the phaser shot. The death of Kodos caused Lenore to experience a total mental breakdown. When the Enterprise arrived at Benecia Colony, Lenore was institutionalized there, with McCoy promising Kirk she would receive the best of care. Quotes Trivia *The characters Kang and Kodos on The Simpsons were named after Kodos the Executioner and Kang the Klingon, both villains from Star Trek. 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